[Pakistan] PM urges Global community to alleviate poverty

from The Pak Tribune

HALIFAX: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has urged the global Community to help alleviate global poverty, by providing means of income for masses of under developed nations.

While addressing the International summit about micro and macro financing, in the Canadian city of Halifax here Sunday, he termed poverty as the biggest challenge for the mankind, since it fosters injustice, extremism and a sense of deprivation among the suffering masses, and presented his 5-point agenda for micro and macro financing solutions in the most under developed countries for well being of the poor masses and specifically women.

He said that various reforms have been successfully implemented in Pakistan and account for the current success in economical progress and development of the Country, and a significant decline in poverty has also been witnessed.

While presenting the facts and figures, he informed his audience that due to these conducive policies the figure of Pakistani masses living below the poverty line was 34.5 % in year 2001, which was reduced to 23.9% until year 2005, indicating that the government was able to relieve about 30,00,000 persons from the curse and menace of poverty in a short spate of four years.

He cited the four-prong strategy, which had helped evolve this progress, namely, speeding up the development, investment for human resources, self-employment schemes via micro and macro financing, and social protection for the under privileged sections of the society. He said that Khushali Bank has played an important part in its establishment, while legislation for monitoring micro and macro financing is also being carried out.

He said that about four district level banks have been established, and also cited other small outfits providing micro/macro financing for poor and the needy, and include such programmes as poverty alleviation funds, assistance for rural folk, and micro and macro financing through leasing companies and banks.

While concluding his speech the PM stressed on providing a comprehensive strategy to combat the global menace of poverty using all the available resources.